US legislators have jacked up tariffs on China’s exports. No wonder, the decision has sparked an indignant response from Beijing. According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, the unilateral hike in tariffs by the US against his country is nothing but "bullying and acts of recklessness in the modern world."
From his viewpoint, this outrageous decision reveals that Washington has lost confidence in itself. The Chinese diplomat believes that such protectionism will not settle economic woes in the US but will deal a serious blow to the well-established supply chains. Moreover, the mechanism of international production chains is also in jeopardy. "It appears that some people in the United States have reached the point of losing their minds. The US foreign policy is aimed at maintaining unilateral hegemony," Wang Yi added.
On May 14, a red-hot package of higher tariffs on Chinese imports came into effect. Depending on the category, duties on certain imports from China were pumped up by 25% to 100%. The tariffs on made-in-China electric cars (100%) as well as syringes and needles (50%) increased the most. The White House explained these measures as a response to Beijing's "unfair trade practices" aimed at stimulating its own growth at the expense of global supplies of cheap goods.
Besides, Joe Biden accused China’s authorities of fraudulent market capture through cyber espionage. In this context, the White House advocates for tightening trade with China because of "unacceptable risks to the economic security" of the US.
Such statements have caused a harsh reaction in China. The Chinese authorities defined efforts to restrict exports to the US as "classic protectionism." According to Fu Bingfeng, the Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, exaggerating the issue of overcapacity in Chinese manufacturing, which supposedly threatens US national security, is an "extremely unreasonable step."
